From institutionalisation to citizenship: lessones learned from studying diaconal practice in a norwegian context

Abstract

This article is based upon a historical study of a Norwegian diaconal foundation working in the field of disability care and welfare services. The article discusses how the foundation understood their mission and responded to emerging integration policies in the context of a Scandinavian welfare state. The article starts out by positioning disability as a human rights concept, both internationally and in the Norwegian context. Martha Nussbaum’s theory of justice – the capabilities approach – is introduced and offered as a theoretical perspective for studying diaconal practice. Next, the historical study involving a Norwegian diaconal service provider working in the field of disability and deaf culture is introduced. The study is situated in both a disability and deaf culture context, since for the most part the service users are deaf and deafblind persons with impairment(s). User involvement and citizenship have emerged as important factors in the context of disability; the article therefore discusses how social justice can be integrated into this kind of diaconal practice.